I was trained as an experimental psychologist and artist at the University of Belgrade and the University of Novi Sad in Serbia. My doctoral (Ritsumeikan University, 2009-2013) and postdoctoral (Kyoto University, 2013-2015) work in Japan focused on incorporating these two disciplines through the psychophysics of illusions and neuroscience of aesthetics; sitting at the cross-section of vision research and studies of art reception.

My research in experimental aesthetics is focused on solving a centuries-old conundrum: what makes paintings aesthetically pleasing - their style or their semantic content? I use machine learning and eye-tracking techniques to explore individual preferences for visual art. The goal of my research is to offer automatic feedback about observers’ aesthetic preferences and predict their future choices. If successful our technology will enable museums, galleries, and immersive media to offer 1:1 curatorial service without increasing the cost of hosting art exhibitions.

In my current role, together with Prof Ute Leonards (Psychological Science), Dr Laszlo Talas (Vet School), Prof David Bull (Electrical and Electronic Engineering), I lead the development of a new digital technology-based tool informed by the latest vision science research to support inclusive art & architectural design. The TRIAD tool (Toward tRanslational Inclusive Art & Design) will be co-designed with architects and the General Public in partnership with MyWorld,  We the Curious (Science Centre in Bristol) and CAMERA (Centre for the Analysis of Motion, Entertainment Research and Applications, University of Bath). The University’s future Story Exchange space at the Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus will serve as use case for the tool; thus, offering an unprecedented opportunity to Bristol’s diverse communities to gather insights into their own personal reactions to different designs and to directly influence the final design choices for Story Exchange.